Coming Home
by BLACKxDOVE
Summary: Emma is having casual sex with both Regina and Ruby; no strings attached. They both decide that they want more on the same day, leaving Emma with a hard decision to make. Written for a tumblr prompt.


**Coming Home  
**Written by BLACKxDOVE

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As a loud moan bursts from Regina's open mouth she lets her head fall back against the pillows while her body shivers and shakes with pleasure. After several slowly drawn out moments the brunette becomes motionless and limp as a small, satisfied smirk ghosts across her crimson lips. Letting her dark eyes flutter open Regina chews at the corner of her mouth as she tries to piece a sentence together within her mind.

Humming in contentment and frazzled within her head, the brunette lifts the blankets and peeks beneath at the blonde head buried between her thighs. As green eyes flash up from the darkness to meet honey brown ones the brunette can feel her heart race for the hundredth time that evening; this time having nothing to do with arousal.

Emma takes one final taste of her lover and then quickly climbs up the lithe and sweat-soaked body. Giving Regina a wordless kiss, the blonde revels in the growl that reverberates through her lover's mouth and down her very own throat; the brunette always loved tasting herself on Emma's lips. But, just as the kiss was becoming fervent and reawakening the lust they had only moments ago sated the blonde pulled away and scooted off the bed.

Brown eyes followed Emma's naked form as she clumsily stalked across the dark bedroom in search of her clothes. Pulling the blanket up to her chest, Regina gripped the sheets between her fingers tightly. Sighing, the brunette pinched the bridge of her nose to sooth herself before she spoke.

"Ms. Swan, I believe it would be in your best interest if you stayed."

"My best interest?" The blonde scoffed as she jumped up and down a couple of times as she pulled up her underwear, "you know we don't do sleepovers. No strings attached, remember? It was your rule after all."

"Of course I remember!" Regina snapped as she shot the other woman a hard glare, but quickly softened her gaze and took a deep breath. "I'm merely saying that perhaps what we already have could turn into something better. And not just for the two of us...for Henry as well."

"So now you're trying to bribe me into a relationship?" Emma kidded as she pulled on her socks, but as the brunette's eyes flickered away from her the blonde frowned as she realized she had touched a nerve. "Look, Regina, it was a joke…I just didn't peg you as the type to—"

"Didn't peg me as the type to _what_, dear?" The brunette questioned accusingly. "Although it may be hard for both you and Henry to realize I am capable of having positive feelings towards someone."

After pulling her white tank top over her head Emma stepped over to the bed and sat down beside the stricken woman. She would be completely lying to herself if the blonde said that over the course of intimate and everyday happenings between her and Regina that she hadn't developed feelings for her. But the very idea of a relationship—a real, adult romantic relationship with another person—made Emma's heart strings tangle in fear of possible pain. Chewing at her bottom lip, the blonde reached out a hand and laced her fingers with Regina's; gently rubbing her thumb over the soft skin.

"I didn't mean it like that, Regina…" she sighed as she tightened her grip on the brunette's hand, "…I just meant that I didn't know you were interested in pursuing a relationship."

"I wasn't," Regina began, letting her eyes meet the blonde's and she grimaced at her own vulnerability, "but sex can only be just sex for so long. Eventually you start…feeling things—to be frank I'm feeling these _things_."

Everything that was tumbling from the brunette's quivering lips pounded against Emma's heart like a hammer and she wasn't sure weather it was an ache of wanting or an ache of terror. But what the blonde did know was that Regina was speaking directly from her soul—from that soft, sacred place inside of her that always remained hidden to the world, including Emma, until now. But just as the blonde's mind was beginning to process everything that was being said, and all of the things she was feeling Regina spoke up once more.

"—And in this case, regardless of how trite and cliché it sounds…I do wonder what it would be like if we were together more than just physically." The confession came out as a stilted whisper, as if it actually hurt the brunette to admit what she was saying. "So what I'm offering is…that if you climb into this bed right now and stay the night then we will continue on our relationship as a couple." Shifting her gaze to the door, Regina stiffened as the remnants of her thoughts wafted from her soullessly. "And if not then I would rather have nothing more to do with you."

Emma took a gulping breath as she felt the ultimatum settle into her spine. Chancing a glance at the brunette—the dark eyes that looked at her expectantly made Emma far more nervous than before. Shaking off her nerves, the blonde tried to visualize a life with Regina versus a continued life of mindless, meaningless sex. Although Regina could be cold and aloof, she also had breathtakingly lovely moments where her iron mask evaded her and she became a normal person with normal feelings. This was the truly beautiful side of the brunette that not many people had ever seen, and Emma knew that it was a big step for the woman to allow her into that special place she harbored.

Opening and closing her mouth in thought, the blonde rubbed her free hand over her face roughly as a way of trying to clear her thoughts. Regina watched her curiously as she fidgeted on the bed. Of course she had put her on the spot; of course she had given her a serious choice that she had to pick from, but in the end the brunette would be rewarded with Emma's true feelings. And although she had an idea that the blonde felt the same way she did, Regina did not want to chance it by allowing the woman to continue touching every part of her except for the part that she desperately wanted to be touched—her heart. And just as Emma turned toward the brunette to say something a hideous ringing sound bounced between the both of them.

Releasing her hand from Regina's grasp, the blonde slid off the bed and fumbled around the floor for her jeans. Finding them relatively quickly, Emma pulled her cell phone from one of the back pockets and read the caller display: Ruby. Wincing at the terrible timing of her second "friend's" call, the blonde stood up and frowned at the brunette. Before Regina had the option to tell Emma not to answer her phone, the blonde walked into the adjoining bathroom and closed the door behind her. The brunette groaned loudly as she fell back against her pillows realizing how stupid it was of her to admit so much to a woman who had no intention of sticking around any longer than it took to get herself off.

"Hey, Ruby…" Emma whispered as she switched on the light in the bathroom, "what's up?"

"Not much, bored…was wondering if you wanted to stop by."

"Oh…uh…it's already pretty late…"

"A quickie is fine with me, babe, it still—"

"Well, actually…" the blonde interrupted as she sat down on the edge of the tub, "…I'm kind of tied up at the moment."

"Literally or figuratively?" Ruby asked flirtatiously as she laughed into the receiver.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Emma smiled, remembering a few of the times she had spent with the young waitress where 'literal' precedent.

"But, anyway…I actually wanted to talk."

"About what?"

"Us…" Ruby drawled, as if the blonde should know exactly what she was talking about. "Casual is great, don't get me wrong, but…" And as Emma heard the _but_ she felt her forehead freckle with perspiration, "…I was thinking something stable would be even greater, don't you?"

Cursing under her breath, the blonde stood and began pacing back and forth within the small bathroom. Two women in the run of an hour had just asked her to be in an actual relationship with them. _Relationship_, the very word scared Emma to the core and she felt as if she would pass out if she had to think about the idea any further. But, just as she was about to start another lap of pacing Emma stopped and turned towards the door. Opening it a jar, the blonde peered out and looked at Regina and she felt her knees go weak; she was laying stretched out on her bed with the sheets thrown off her, her naked, olive skin glimmering in the moonlight. And at that very moment Emma couldn't remember wanting something as much as she wanted to walk back into the bedroom and wrap the brunette in her arms as they fell asleep.

Then, as if a light bulb flashed above her head it struck her; the blonde had never wanted, never craved anything in her life more than the way she needed Regina. Of course she liked Ruby, she was a beautiful girl with a heart of gold—Emma was most certainly attracted to her, but there was something missing. She would never seek out the younger woman just to be near her, she never found herself thinking about Ruby when she desperately wanted to be with someone. No, all of these things were always involving Regina. And as Emma's mind spun into overdrive and she felt her heart flutter in her chest she finally knew what she had to do.

"Emma…you there?" Ruby's voice wafted through the phone and into the blonde's ear. "Hello?"

"Sorry…sorry, I'm here."

"So…" the woman said coyly, "…what do you say?"

"Actually, you know what…" Emma started, as she let her eyes take in the brunette's form once more before turning away, "…I can't—there's someone else. I'm sorry…"

"Someone else?" Ruby questioned curiously, but a few seconds later her perplexed silence was erased by an excited squeal. "Oh my God! It's the Mayor, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" the blonde laughed, rolling her eyes, "it's Regina—wait, how did you know?"

"Seriously?" The woman chuckled, "you two are _so_ obvious. Plus I always kind of assumed…since you have a kid together…"

They finished off their conversation by Ruby listing off all of the reasons why the two women should be together while Emma snickered and agreed with the other woman's points. And after a few moments they decided that it would have never really worked out between them and that it would be best if they merely stayed friends. Saying their goodbyes, the blonde felt a great weight being lifted from her shoulders as she ended the call. Everything seemed to be working out for Emma for the first time in a long, long time and there seemed to be a skip in her step as she exited the bathroom.

At the sound of the blonde walking back into the bedroom Regina perked up and shifted her gaze to the woman. As Emma began taking off the clothes she had recently put back on the brunette quirked an eyebrow quizzically. Noticing the odd look that Regina offered her, the blonde merely smiled as she crawled onto the bed beside her.

Laying a gentle hand on the brunette's cheek, Emma turned onto her side and gazed into the honey brown eyes that stared into her own. A sense of truth crackled through the air as they shuffled closer together—as if the very earth had been waiting for the two women to finally acknowledge their true feelings for one another.

"I snore," Emma whispered as her fingers traced every curve of the brunette's face, "I hog the sheets, and I'm known to eat in bed. But…" taking a breath, the blonde rubbed her thumb against Regina's lips tenderly, "…if you'll have me I couldn't think of sleeping anywhere else for as long as you want me."

"I suppose we shall see just how much of your behavior I can tolerate." The brunette said nonchalantly, but the happiness that glimmered within her eyes betrayed her apathetic tone. "But, for now I do know that I want you—and I rarely give up the things that I want."

As the words flittered about the bedroom like the heavenly chimes of a harp Regina slowly let her mask slip away as her full lips stretched into the most luminous smile that the blonde had ever seen. It was as if the sun was shining through the brunette and Emma vowed from then on to do whatever it was in her power to make that smile resurface as often as possible. And as the elation wafted through her limbs the blonde watched in awe as Regina separated the small amount of space between them and pressed her grinning lips to Emma's. Their kiss was as sweet as chocolate and as true and pure as a first kiss; it was in that gentle, quiet moment that after years of searching both women had finally found their happy ending—they had finally found their home.

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**A/N: Just a short(ish) one-shot for a tumblr prompt. The story is quite fluffy so I figured it would help me work on my cutesy writing so that I can finish up "Once Upon a Candy Apple" in a well-written manner. Anyway, let me know what you think by REVIEWING :)**


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